Data Collection Methods
Data Collection
Reading Strategy/Skill Pre-Test
To begin, I administered a pre/post test in the Wonders' curriculum that assesses over one specific skill they are familiar with. I compared their pre and post test at the beginning and end of my data collection period to see if the explicit instruction of strategies increase overall understanding of text.
Student Survey
I gave students a pre/post reading survey over their thoughts and feelings towards reading in small groups and their prior knowledge of reading strategies. The survey's purpose was to guide me through what next steps to take and how my students felt about reading. I knew this data would serve as a great purpose to set individual goals, where to begin with student growth, and I could assess their knowledge of strategies.
Student Reading Strategy Anticipatory Guide
Students took a pre/post survey of their knowledge of reading strategies before explicit instruction and data was taken. These statements were true and false sentences and students were asked to write true or false based off prior knowledge of a strategy.
Exit Tickets
I administered formative assessments on Wednesdays/Thursdays of my literacy block in small groups. My formative assessment tools were: exit tickets using sentence starters, post it notes, written response questions, and quick checks through targeted questioning. These formative assessments during small groups changed week to week due to the strategy we worked on that week and how it was assessed differently in reading. I had each formative assessment through a 5 point scale to have data stay consistent.
Weekly Assessments/Selection Tests
My last form of data collection was the weekly Wonders’ assessments/selection tests that are given every Thursday/Friday. Students were assessed over that week’s skill. The strategies I taught and introduced that week will support a greater overall understanding of text. I took data on the data dashboard provided by Wonders to see what the overall class average was on that specific skill being assessed.
Why these data collection methods were selected Based off of data taken from week to week first semester, I was able to detect which skills students were not able to meet on their weekly test. With that data, I then differentiated my reading groups and put students together who struggled with a skill or strategy the week before. I think the weekly test does a great job of breaking down the data for me so I can see what specific questions were missed and how I can reteach concepts that did not stick the first time. I chose the pre and post test because this broke down one skill and one strategy that I used as my first data when I started. I was able to see where students started at the beginning and at the end of my data collection. I chose to use a variety of formative assessments through exit tickets, written prompts, and targeted questioning to do quick checks in small groups to fit the needs of my learners. This helped me gather evidence of student learning each Wednesday and helped me see if they are able to use that week’s strategy to better understand the text.
Recognized diverse learning needs: Instruction was differentiated through my four different groups of high, middle, and low readers. These groups are made based off of their weekly tests and their MAP reports. Each formative assessment looked different from week to week in the different groups based off of their reading skills and their ability to comprehend.
Applied individualized, developmentally appropriate goals and instruction based on the information: The data I collected each week allowed me to set a goal for each individual student. I had a Wonders' Assessment data sheet that I showed students weekly with their previous reading score and we set new weekly goals on Mondays. In small groups, we used the knowledge we had of our previous test scores and set goals as a group to see how we could improve for the next week’s score. We discussed the weekly goals at the beginning of the week in small groups so each time spent together was intentional and purposeful for what we were trying to accomplish to become better readers.